"I almost forgot—this guy Aizen is also a great scientist, truly a role model for us."
After considering just how dangerous Aizen was, Daniel Davis suddenly realized that he had previously left something out: in the field of scientific research, Aizen was by no means lagging behind. Kisuke Urahara had created a Collapse Jewel—and Aizen, too, had made one.
In Daniel's estimation, when it came to sheer danger, Aizen occupied an extremely significant place in his mind. One might say that even Thanos doesn't pose as great a threat as Aizen. In terms of raw power, Aizen might not match Thanos, but when it comes to danger, the two are in a completely different league.
"Collapse Jewel—now that I think of it, it's a bit like the Philosopher's Stone. I recall that Kisuke Urahara's Collapse Jewel was fashioned from a Hollow's soul, while Aizen's was made from a Shinigami's soul. So, if one used a human soul, could one likewise create a Collapse Jewel? And what would happen if all three were combined into one?"
As thoughts of Urahara's and Aizen's Collapse Jewels—and the Philosopher's Stone—flashed through his mind, Daniel's eyes suddenly lit up. Especially after considering Ichigo Kurosaki's triple heritage, he realized that it wasn't entirely out of the question.
"Wouldn't it be even better if we used a Quincy instead? If it's only about crafting a Collapse Jewel, a Youhabakh soul should suffice."
"However, that all hinges on the Collapse Jewel being fundamentally the same thing as the Philosopher's Stone. So the primary condition is to obtain a Collapse Jewel in order to confirm this—but unfortunately, neither of the two Collapse Jewels is easy to come by."
Kisuke Urahara's Collapse Jewel was hidden within Rukia Kuchiki's body. Judging by Aizen's movements, it was far from easy to extract it from there. Moreover, even when Aizen retrieved his own Collapse Jewel, he didn't harm Rukia in the slightest; and Daniel wasn't about to lay a finger on her just for the sake of a Collapse Jewel.
"Right now, the immediate priority is to settle in first, and then we can worry about the rest—after all, Aizen's plan hasn't even begun yet, has it?"
After mulling over what he intended to achieve in this world, Daniel Davis promptly stood up from the bench and walked toward the park's exit.
"This is spiritual energy. If the people of Kamataiji were to cultivate here, they'd definitely get twice the results with half the effort."
Three days later, in a modest yet exquisitely appointed villa not far from the hospital run by the Kurosaki family, Daniel Davis was quietly absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy as he cultivated. Using a few subtle methods, he effortlessly secured the identification documents of this world along with a considerable fortune.
That wealth wasn't acquired through nefarious means at all—it all started by exchanging gold for an initial sum, and then letting Hong Hou engage in stock trading to build it up.
Once everything was settled, Daniel immediately began his cultivation and soon felt the benefits of the spiritual energy. The greatest boon in the world of the Shinigami is longevity—whether it's Quincies, Shinigami, or Hollows, as long as one isn't slain by someone else, their lifespan can be exceedingly long.
Of course, such longevity comes with one caveat: one must be powerful enough. Those who aren't strong will still lead short lives. Just look at the Quincies from a thousand years ago—Youhabakh and his kind. Even after enduring battles with the Shinigami back then, many still survived.
As for the powerful Shinigami, their lifespans are even more unpredictable. Take that monk from Squad Zero, for instance—he was, at the very least, from the era of the four great noble ancestors of the Soul Society. And then there's Aizen, sentenced to twenty thousand years in prison. For ordinary people, such a sentence is tantamount to dying behind bars—but with Aizen, who knows? He might just live long enough to be released.
"Once things are taken care of here, I can bring Aida, Aisdes, and the others into this world."
Given Aida's, Aisdes's, and the others' power, it would be hard for them to advance further in the pirate world. But if they came here, the enhancement of their souls would naturally boost their strength—and, most importantly, greatly extend their lifespans.
Speaking of which, for Ichigo Kurosaki and Orihime Inoue, life or death is hardly an issue at all. For them, dying is nothing more than assuming a new identity.
"Rukia's strength is already waning; it looks like Aizen's move won't be long in coming. Poor thing—I bet she has no idea how many people are watching her from the shadows."
After settling in, Daniel also grew curious and began to silently trail behind Rukia, watching as she went after Hollows. Judging by the ferocity of her strikes and the issues with her Shikai, it was clear that her power was diminishing.
Rukia's current standing in the Soul Society might be rather low—but that was due to Byakuya Kuchiki's deliberate suppression. In terms of strength, she shouldn't be so winded after merely clashing with an average Hollow.
Trailing behind Rukia, Daniel also noticed some amusing details—for instance, there were often others who, like him, were secretly following her.
For example, he'd once spotted Kisuke Urahara. The other party probably hadn't expected anyone else to be tailing Rukia in secret, so he didn't notice Daniel at all.
There were also Ichigo's father, Isshin Kurosaki, and someone from the masked army. Sometimes even a black cat would appear. One must admit, Karakura Town is truly teeming with hidden talents.
Besides these, Daniel observed that Uryu Ishida would occasionally step in to eliminate Hollows. After all, Karakura Town is quite vast—and Rukia can't possibly be everywhere at once.
Even though Daniel, while following Rukia, had discovered the location of Kisuke Urahara's general store, he chose not to make contact. Unlike Aizen, if it were Aizen, as long as Daniel could produce something that piqued his interest—be it some trivial fighting technique, Kidō, or even a method to become a Shinigami—he would have no qualms about offering it. But Kisuke Urahara wouldn't do that. Even if Daniel presented something enticing, the outcome would be the same. Urahara is a guardian of order in the Soul Society; someone like Daniel, who suddenly appears coveting Shinigami power, would naturally raise suspicions. Before any trade could be arranged, it might even come to blows.
Daniel wasn't particularly afraid of Urahara, but if a fight were to break out and it ended up alerting Aizen, his plan to profit from the ensuing chaos would be shot—at the very least, he'd have to wait until he could sneak into the Soul Society through Ichigo Kurosaki.
Once inside the Soul Society, acquiring even trivial fighting techniques or Kidō would be a piece of cake.
"The technique of binding spirits as my minions isn't working at all. Could it be because souls in this world are regarded as life?"
Apart from trailing Rukia to gather intel, Daniel also took the opportunity to capture a few Hollows, testing whether his spirit-binding technique could turn them into shikigami.
If it worked, he could even capture some Shinigami or the Ten Blades to serve as his shikigami—but unfortunately, his experiments proved he was overestimating his chances.
The Hollows in the Shinigami world, though theoretically composed of souls, nonetheless possess physical bodies—they bleed, cry out in pain, can be killed again, and most importantly, their cells can be extracted.
And besides, apart from being normally invisible to ordinary people, the Shinigami are virtually indistinguishable from humans—they eat, sleep, marry, and even have children, which is perfectly normal in this world. Yet to Daniel, it was rather astonishing. Of course, he didn't bother to trace the origins; if he really dug in, he'd have to go all the way back to the creation of this world.
For Daniel Davis, as long as it enhanced his power, that was all that mattered.
"Alright, class—let's get started. Run three laps around the track."
At Karakura Town First High School, Daniel Davis, sporting black-rimmed glasses, strode onto the track. After casting a quick glance at the neatly lined-up students, he immediately ordered them to start running laps.
This class, of course, was Ichigo Kurosaki's class; after a few subtle maneuvers, he had officially become their physical education teacher.
Don't be fooled by Ichigo Kurosaki's delinquent look—that's just his manner. In reality, he's an all-around excellent guy: good in academics, outstanding in sports. Had it not been for his bright orange hair and his somewhat sharp gaze, he'd undoubtedly be the campus heartthrob everyone adored.
Unfortunately, that very hair color spoils it all—in school, only a few dare interact with him, while the rest keep their distance as soon as they see him. One reason for this is that Ichigo and Yasutora Sado once teamed up at the school gate to knock down a bunch of troublemaking thugs, leading others to assume he was also a delinquent.
Becoming Ichigo's teacher was, in Daniel's view, the best way to get close to him without drawing the suspicions of Kisuke Urahara and the others.
"These two really don't seem like typical high schoolers at all."
Observing Yasutora Sado and Orihime Inoue in the crowd, Daniel couldn't help but shake his head. Among the students, Yasutora's towering height made him stand out like a crane among chickens.
Similarly, Orihime was exceptional in her own way—which is precisely why the girls hardly took to her. Simply put, they were jealous. But thanks to the presence of Ichigo and Yuzawa Ryukui, bullying never occurred; with Ichigo and Yasutora on campus, the deterrent effect was enormous.
"Finally, I've found you—Ginjō Kūgo, Tsukishima Shūkurō."
During his stint as Ichigo's PE teacher, Daniel didn't simply wait for Aizen's plan to unfold; instead, he set out to seek those who practiced the Complete Manifestation Technique. Among humans, aside from the Quincies—those who could cultivate using spiritual energy—there was another group who could harness that energy: the practitioners of the Complete Manifestation Technique.
Come to think of it, the abilities of Yasutora Sado and Orihime Inoue were themselves forms of the Complete Manifestation Technique. This shows that if one's character is up to par, the Complete Manifestation Technique can yield godlike powers. Orihime's "Six-Flower Shield" is undoubtedly extraordinarily potent—when it comes to its healing effects, the abilities Daniel currently possessed just couldn't compare.
At the very least, Daniel's own power wasn't sufficient to challenge divine authority—whereas Orihime's all-encompassing rejection of phenomena outright defies it.
With such bizarre abilities, coupled with Ichigo Kurosaki's unique blend of Hollow, Quincy, and Shinigami powers, it's no wonder that even though his son was so young later on, he was incredibly formidable. Factoring in the Complete Manifestation Technique, Ichigo's son wielded the power of four lineages—one more than Ichigo himself.
"Ichigo, you'd better thank me—I've gone ahead and solved one of your problems in advance."
Taking action against Ginjō Kūgo and his men was a double win for Daniel. On one hand, it allowed him to eliminate some of the nuisances—Ginjō had always been a Complete Manifestation Technique practitioner who trained his opponents to grow stronger only to steal their power for himself. On the other, it enabled Daniel to acquire not only the cultivation method of the Complete Manifestation Technique but also a Shinigami proxy certificate.
"Bring me a cocktail."
In a small, yet very quiet bar, Daniel Davis pushed the door open and entered. Instantly, a group of patrons scattered about turned their gazes toward the newcomer. But Daniel paid them no mind—he walked straight up to the bar and, addressing a middle-aged attendant clad like a pirate with a black eye patch over his right eye, said softly:
"Sorry, we only admit insiders here."
The middle-aged attendant scrutinized Daniel for a moment before glancing over at a young man sitting alone with a slicked-back hairstyle. Only then did he slowly speak.
This bar, naturally, was the stronghold of xcution—the organization of Complete Manifestation Technique users that Ginjō Kūgo and his cohorts belonged to. Although it looked like a bar, it wasn't open to the public; it only served their own members, or when a juicy target showed up.
For Ginjō Kūgo and his ilk, money was never an issue—earning cash with their abilities was just too easy.
"Internal guests, huh? Sorry, I'm not a guest—room, slaughterhouse."
Daniel fixed the attendant with a half-smile. With a casual flick of his left hand, the chairs around him vanished in an instant, replaced by all the bar's members. As the stunned onlookers gaped, a flash of cold light swept past—and in the very next moment, several of them discovered that their bodies had been dismembered.
Earlier experiments had shown Daniel that the Surgery Fruit in this world worked even on Hollows. As for Shinigami, he hadn't tested it yet—after all, it wouldn't be ideal to use on Rukia. But since it worked on Hollows, it should be effective on Shinigami too. Besides, Ginjō Kūgo and his men were all human—not Hollows, nor Shinigami.
Daniel had no intention of engaging in a prolonged battle with Ginjō's group; he wasn't some berserk fighter like Gengmu Jianba. Instead, he opted for a surprise attack, using the Surgery Fruit to deal with them in one swift move—it was far simpler that way.
"Hello, Ginjō Kūgo."
After bundling up the bodies of the five men in large bandages, Daniel placed their heads side by side on the counter. To prevent the panicked shouts of the others from interfering with his conversation with Ginjō, he even sealed their mouths himself.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
The head of Ginjō Kūgo—now arrayed on the counter—wore a rare expression of panic. That feeling, aside from when he'd fled from the Soul Society's manhunt long ago, he hadn't experienced in over a century.
Don't be fooled by Ginjō's youthful appearance; he is someone capable of becoming a proxy Shinigami, and with the Complete Manifestation Technique added in, his age is naturally beyond that of ordinary men.
"What do I want to do? Of course, I intend to do the same as you all."
"This is my Complete Manifestation Technique. How does it feel? Don't worry—there'll be plenty of time for us to get acquainted later."
Before Daniel could act further, the bar's door suddenly swung open and two people entered from outside.
"Looks like you didn't catch everyone last time."
Seeing the two newcomers, Daniel immediately halted his actions. He wasn't exactly sure how many people Ginjō had with him—the only one he recognized was Ginjō himself, the man who sought to steal Ichigo's power.
"Mr. Ginjō, who are you?"
A woman with long purple-red hair who had just entered asked. Upon seeing the five heads lined up on the counter, her face immediately changed.
"Mr. Tsukishima, I'm going to kill you."
The other newcomer—a teenage boy with the air of a high school delinquent—burst into action as soon as he spotted one of the heads on the counter. He quickly drew a pair of brass knuckles emblazoned with three sevens, slipped them onto his right hand, and charged straight at Daniel Davis.
(End of Chapter)
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